Verstappen on top as Hadjar takes grid penalty

What the report says

Nile Post, carrying a BBC Sport report, says Max Verstappen set the fastest time in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, leading Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 0.145 seconds. Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, while Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar placed fourth, 0.252 seconds off Verstappen’s benchmark.

The main development beyond the practice times was Hadjar’s confirmed 10-place grid penalty for using more engines than permitted under the regulations. The report says he is the second driver facing an engine-related penalty this weekend, with Lando Norris also due to drop 10 places after exceeding the allowed number of batteries. Norris, described in the report as world champion, was seventh fastest in the session.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was sixth, behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, while George Russell was eighth and 0.356 seconds slower than Antonelli. The report says Antonelli leads the championship by 25 points as the season approaches a potential halfway stage, with uncertainty noted over whether two scheduled Middle Eastern races can go ahead amid the US/Israel-Iran war context cited by the article.

Verstappen’s pace came while Red Bull used an older rear-wing specification, with the team reportedly still working on a newer “flip-flop” or “somersault” design linked in the report to recent high-speed crashes. The session was largely calm: Liam Lawson ran wide after an oversteer moment at Stavelot, and Piastri had a late hydraulic-pressure problem that forced him to circulate slowly near the end.